Deep-mine augering machine

ABSTRACT

An auger deep-mining machine for extracting minerals, such as coal, from relatively thin seams thereof and having an augerrotating carriage which reciprocates, by means of sump jacks, toward and away from the coal face on a rigid, elongated sump frame which is equipped with steerable wheels for tramming and slides laterally upon a pair of rails attached to an underlying square anchor plate, having floor and roof jacks at each corner, under control of position jacks attached to the anchor plate. Because the wheels are selectively attachable at either an extended or retracted position, the machine is shiftable laterally by a leap-frogging procedure during which the anchor plate hangs from the sump frame. A dust collection means at the face end of the sump frame removes dust emerging from the hole being augered.

United States Patent [191 Ray et al.

[ Sept. 10, 1974 DEEP-MINE AUGERING MACHINE [75] Inventors: Lindsey W.Ray; William S. Bryant,

both of Summersville; William A. Ray, Cottle, all of W. Va.

[73] Assignees: Lindsey W. Ray, Summerville;

William A. Ray, Cottle, both of, W. Va.

221 Filed: Oct. 6, 1972 21 Appl. No; 295,511

[52] US. Cl 299/10, 173/23, 175/57, 175/85, 299/l9, 299/56 [51] Int. Cl.E21c 27/22 [58] Field of Search 299/31, 55-57; 173/23; 175/62, 85, 52,57

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,872,170 2/l959 Alspaugh etal, 299/31 X 3,09l,439 5/1963 Adams et al 299/31 3,114,425 12/1963 Adams299/31 X Brimary Examiner-Ernest R. Purser Attorney, Agent, orFirmGeorge A. Depaoli; William E. OBrien [57] ABSTRACT An augerdeep-mining machine for extracting minerals, such as coal, fromrelatively thin seams thereof and having an auger-rotating carriagewhich reciprocates, by means of sump jacks, toward and away from thecoal face on a rigid, elongated sump frame which is equipped withsteerable wheels for tramming and slides laterally upon a pair of railsattached to an underlying square anchor plate, having floor and roofjacks at each corner, under control of position jacks attached to theanchor plate. Because the wheels are selectively attachable at either anextended or retracted position, the machine is shiftable laterally by aleap-frogging procedure during which the anchor plate hangs from thesump frame. A dust collection means at the face end of the sump frameremoves dust emerging from the hole being aug-ered.

23 Claims, 17 Drawing Figures PAIENIEB SEP 1 0 m4 sum 1 m FIG. I

PATENIED E 1 01974 3.834. 761 sum 5 0F 6 FIG. [0

DEEP-MINE AUGERING MACHINE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of theInvention This invention relates to auger mining machinery and moreparticularly to auger deep-mining machinery that is adapted toextracting minerals disposed in relatively thin seams of two to fourfeet in thickness.

It specifically relates to auger mining machinery having a trammingmeans and a reciprocative position means whereby the machine can rapidlytraverse mine entries, is readily positioned along a mineral face, andefficiently extracts and feeds auger flights in thin-seam miningoperations, as in coal mining.

Auger deep-mining machinery for thin-seam mining must surmount manydifficulties. Maneuvering room is limited, space for storage of augerflights is scarce, headroom is always inadequate, and the seam itselfmay become pinched within a short distance or may change in pitch orstrike without notice.

Nevertheless, auger mining offers many advantages. Each main entry canbe strengthened by roof pins to a degree that would otherwise beuneconomical, thereby significantly increasing safety for allunderground personnel. Pillars and panels left between entries can bereadily bored with the auger from either direction and to depths of 100feet or more, whereby costs of removing the mineral are greatly reduced.

In coal mining operations, the roof-strengthening advantages of theauger mining method facilitates coal ex traction within very large areasthat are now hampered by poor roof conditions which prevent otherwisepractical extraction of relatively thin seams of coal. Because augermining enables men and machinery to remain completely out of majorportions of a mine, whereby roofs of entries can be greatly strengthenedon an economical basis, safety of the coal miners is significantlyenhanced and costs arising from damaged machinery is greatly reduced.

2. Review of the Prior Art It is not surprising, therefore, that mucheffort has gone into developing auger machinery for deep mining of thinseams, such as U.S. Pat. No. 2,698,169 of Fawkes, U.S. Pat. No.2,979,320 of Adams, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,282,627 of Arndt. These and manyother inventions have successively developed auger machinery whichgenerally comprise a rigid frame, a longitudinally movable carriageresting thereon, an auger-rotating means, a carriage-movement means, andjack means that selectively tilt the machine in alignment with the thinseam to be angered and anchor the machine be tween the floor and theroof of the mine entry wherein the auger machine is operating. Otherimportant developments include skid means for movement of a deepmineauger machine within an entry, such as U.S. Pat. No. 3,291,534 of Adamset al., and conveying means such as disclosed by Young et al. in U.S.Pat. No. 3,395,940.

Nevertheless, deep-mine augering of thin coal seams has not becomewidely adopted. One main reason therefore is the complexity of theavailable machines, the difficulty of maneuvering them in thin-seam coalmine entries, and the lack of working space within such entries.Specifically, the difficulties experienced'with tramming these machinesto working areas along mine entries, maneuvering them into positionalong a coal 5 the Fawkes machine, described in U.S. Pat. No.

2,698,169, having removable rails 186 upon which wheels 183 roll, themachine being selectively lowered and elevated with floor and roof jacks24 and 25 for positioning and maneuvering thereof. 3

However, because safety requirements are steadily reducing conventionaldeep-mine coal production, ecological furor is rapidly limiting stripmining, and energy demands are constantly increasing, the vast areashaving thin coal seams and dangerously unstable roof conditions demand asuitable thin-seam augering machine.

As an additional problem confronting coal mining, whether in centralWest Virginia where strata 2 feet thick are considered to be thin seams,or in northern West Virginia where 3-foot strata are thin, isair'floated coal dust. Both the extremely fine dust which causes blacklung and the coarser dust which can cause explosions are required to beguarded against by forced air circulation and by extensive use of watersprays.

In mine entries where flexible cables carry 440 volts of alternatingcurrent or deliver 250 volts of direct current to loading machines, coalminers know the constant danger of being eaten up by electrical leaks orground faults while working in wet conditions. Even if passage of largeamounts of electricity through a miners body does not cause fatallyparalyzing shock, there is always danger of injury to the miner or hisfellow workers if electrical faults cause tools to be dropped orreleased during operation under such wet conditions.

Moreover, wetness in thin-seam mining entries, where the miners mustoften work in semi-prone posi tions so that they are chronically wet,tends to afflict the miners with arthritic difficulties at an early age.Obviously, a means for removing dust at the source of gen erationthereof could obviate water spraying entirely without subjecting theminers to black lung or explosive hazards.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is the object of this invention to provide adeep mine augering machine having adequate simplicity, flexibility, andmaneuverability for use in thin-seam mining operations.

It is also an object to provide a steerable and selectively usabletramming means whereby the machine of this invention may be readilymaneuvered along mine entries and positioned alongside a mineral facefor boring operations.

It is a further object to provide a lateral positioning means whichenables (a) the entire machine to be selectively emplaced laterally, incombination with the tramming means, along the mineral face of a mineentry and (b) the sump frame and carriage to perform repetitive andreciprocative feeding and extracting of auger flights.

It is an additional object to provide a deep-mine augering machinehaving an auxiliary dust collection means whereby mining may be done ona dry basis and dangers from explosions and electrical shock may beminimized.

In satisfaction of these objects and in accordance with the spirit ofthis invention, a deep-mine augering machine, adapted for extractingminerals from thin seams, is hereinafter described which includes ananchor means, a reciprocable position means, a sump frame, and acarriage. The anchor means has roof and floor jacks at each corner of alarge anchor frame which is preferably square, slide rails which areparallel to the mineral face being augered and upon which the elongatedsump frame slides to and fro, and a pair of hydraulic position jackswhich slideably position the sump frame for alternately augering andextracting auger flights. The elongated sump frame is balanced on, anddisposed transversely to, the slide rails. The carriage rolls back andforth upon the sump frame, under control of hydraulic jacks attached tothe sump frame, and supports an auger-rotating drive means, an hydraulicpower means, and a control means. At the face end of the sump frame, adust collecting device, partially encircling the auger, abuts themineral face and provides a vacuum-type dust collecting means as theextracted mineral falls therethrough onto a conveyor means, such as abelt.

The anchor frame must have substantially greater width, measuredlaterally or in parallel to the mineral face, than the width of the sumpframe and must have substantially less length, measured longitudinallyor perpendicularly to the mineral face, than the sump frame. The anchorframe must also be extremely rigid and be provided with a hanging meanswhereby it can be suspended from the sump frame even though incantilevered position.

The dust collecting device includes adjustment means for use with augercutting heads of varying diameter, such as from two feet to five feet,each cutting head generally being used with auger flights of slightlysmaller diameter. The dust collecting device is cut through the sumpframe bedplate and also includes a bottom hole through which falls thefragmented mineral being urged rearwardly by the spiral surfaces of theauger flights. A small vacuum pump is connected to the dust collectingdevice by tubing which passes through a dust concentrating means whichis preferably a box enclosing a porous bag through which the air, butnot the dust, passes.

This deep-mine augering machine may be used to extract minerals fromseams having thicknesses of 2 feet to 4 feet or more and can be operatedin the upper portions of thicker seams or in the upper stratum of aseparated seam by interchanging the floor jacks for others having alonger stroke.

By inserting roof pins sufficiently close to each other in the roof of amine entry, the conventional wooden roof posts can be omitted so thatthis machine can bore a series of holes perpendicularly into the mineralface to the desired depth, leapfrog or walk its anchor frame laterally,bore another series of holes, again walk its anchor laterally in thesame direction alongside the mineral face, again bore another series ofholes in sequence with the others, etc., along the entire length of themine entry without interference from such posts.

As a part of the novel method of maneuvering this machine byleapfrogging or walking its anchor frame, the anchor frame issuccessively raised from the floor of the mine entry, shifted laterally,and emplaced again on the floor farther along the mineral face beingbored. When two to four holes have been bored along a mineral face withauger flights varying from 48 inches to 26 inches in diameter,respectively, the roof jacks are released, the floor jacks are extended,the wheels are swung to their extended position, the floor jacks arereleased, and the position jacks are operated to slide the anchor framelaterally while the augering machine is supported on the wheels attachedto the sump frame. Then the floor jacks are extended, the wheels areswung upwardly and pinned in retracted position, and the floor jacks areextended so as selectively to tilt the anchor frame with the mineralstratum to be bored with another series of holes.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. I is a top perspective view ofthe machine of this invention from its left rear comer.

FIG. 2 is a top view of the machine.

FIG. 3 is a front elevation view of the machine, looking in thedirection of the arrows 3-3 in FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a cross section of the dust collecting device of FIG. 3,looking in the direction of the arrows 4-4 in FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the preferred auger flight connectingassembly.

FIG. 6 is a cross section of the rear axle showing the right-rear wheelmounting means, looking in the direction of the arrows 66 in FIG. 2,with the wheel shown in phantom.

FIG. 7 is a cross section of the front axle, showing the right-frontwheel mounting means, looking in the direction of the arrows 7 -7 inFIG. 2, with the wheel shown in phantom.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the sump-frame stop means on the sliderails.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of passage development by use of thedeep-mine augering machine of this invention as the sole mining machinetherefor.

FIG. 10 is a plan view of the layout created by passage development andside excavation by means of the deep-mine augering machine.

FIG. 11a is a diagrammatical plan view of this machine while boring thethird of three successive holes along a mine entry.

FIG. 11b is a diagrammatical elevation view corresponding to FIG. 11a.

FIG. 11c through 11g shows successive stages in laterally walking theaugering machine.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION As shown in the drawings, the deep-mineaugering machine of this invention comprises: a rigid, elongated sumpframe 20; a carriage 30 which is forwardly movable, on the sump frame20, toward the mineral face while augering and rearwardly movable awayfrom the mineral face while retrieving an auger flight; a sump means 40which selectively moves the carriage 30 forwardly and backwardly on thesump frame 20; an auger-rotating drive means 50 which is supported onthe carriage 30 and additionally is a source of hydraulic power; andanchor-frame lifting means 60; an anchorframe bracing means a dustcollecting means 100 that centers the cutter means of the auger means 80at the beginning of a boring operation, loosely supports the augerflights 81 during a boring operation, and-provides a suction means forremoving coal dust exiting from the hole being bored; an auger-flightengaging means that enables successive flights 81 to be rapidly engagedor disengaged by means of a slight twist 94a or 94b, respectively, ofthe male end 91 of a flight 810 with respect to the female end 95 of thenext flight 81b; an anchor frame 110 that underlies the sump frame 21)and is connected to the sump frame with four slide fasteners 115 andwith two horizontally dis posed position jacks; wheel drive means 140including a drive motor and sprocket means therefor; and a wheelsteering means 150 including a steering wheel.

The sump frame 20 comprises a flat, rectangular bottom plate 24 which isrigidly attached, as by welding, to a pair of parallel, spaced-apartH-beams 21 which are strengthened along each side by vertical webs 22,the top plates of the H-beams 21 functioning as rails for the carriagemeans 30. The sump frame 20 further comprises a rear cross beam 23, aface cross beam 25, position jack brackets 26 which are attached to theH- beam 21 and extend about 3 inches therebeneath for attaching theretothe lug at the end of each rod 122 of the position jack cylinder 121, asshown in FIGS. 1 and 2. The sump frame 20 also comprises the sump jackbrackets 28 which are attached to the topside of the rear cross beam 23,as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

The carriage means 31) comprises a carriage bedplate 31, three spacedbedplate shafts 32 and vertically disposed bedplate support webs 33,each of which rigidly attaches a shaft 32 to the bedplate 31 along theentire width thereof. In the cutaway portion of FIG. 3, the forwardbedplate support web 33 is clearly shown. The carriage means furthercomprises three pairs of car riage rollers 35, each roller 35 at one endof a nonrotatable shaft 32 having a pair of block bearings, minus theblock, therewithin. All six rollers roll over the top plates of theH-beam rails 21 so that the top of the bedplate 31 is flush with orslightly beneath the top surfaces of the top plates of the H-beam rails21. The carriage means 30 additionally comprises jack rod brackets 38,which are attached to the carriage bedplate 31, and a pair of upstandingside members 36, each being attached to the carriage bedplate 31alongside the carriage rollers 35, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. The sidemember 36 on the left side serves as a useful support for the controlpanel 135. The carriage frame 30 further comprises pairs of L-shapedsweeper lugs 37 which are rigidly attached to each side member 36 andare closely spaced from the adjacent top plates of the H- beam rails 21,whereby particles of minerals are swept away before the forward andrearward rollers 35.

The sump means 40 comprises a pair of sump jack cylinders 41 having sumpjack rods 42, the ends of which are attached to the jack rod brackets 38with pins. The sump means 40 further comprises a hydraulic pump 46 whichis attached to the sump bedplate 31, a hydraulic feed line 47 to thepump 46, and a hydraulic tank 48 holding hydraulic fluid for thecylinders 41 and other jack cylinders of the angering machine. The endsof the cylinders 41 are attached with pins to the sump jack attachmentbrackets 38, whereby the cylinder rods 42 move the bedplate 31 of thecarriage 30 forwardly and rearwardly as they are respectively advancedfrom and retracted into the cylinders 41.

The power and auger rotational means 50 for rotating the auger means 80comprises an electric motor 51 which is rigidly attached to the bedplate31, a motor output shaft 52, a clutch 53, an hydraulic transmission 54,a drive shaft 55, a speed reducer 56 which transmits rotational powerfrom the motor 51 to the speed reduce output shaft 57, a coupling 58,and a speed reducer take-off shaft 59 to which the hydraulic pump 46 isconnected.

The lift means 60 comprises a pair of rearward floor jacks 61, 61' and apair of forward floors jacks 62,.62, each jack being attached to theanchor plate 111 with a circular bracket 63 and each jack having a floorplate 64.

The brace means comprises a pair of rearward roof jacks 71, 71 and apair of forward roof jacks 72, 72, each jack being attached to theanchor plate 111 with a circular bracket 73 and each jack having a roofplate 74, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

The auger means comprises a plurality of auger flights or sections 81,each flight 81 having conventional spirals 82 with spiral edges 83, ashaft 84, and a cutter head 85 with cutter teeth 86, as shown in FIG. 2.

The flights 81 are rotatably connected to each other with theauger-flight engaging means shown in FIG. 5, comprising the post 91, atthe forward end of the shaft 84 of a flight 81a, typically being addedin front of the sump frame 20, and the post opening 93, at the rearwardend of the shaft 84 of the rearmost or out wardmost auger flight 81bprotruding from the auger hole being bored. The auger-flight engagingmeans 90 also comprises the locking lug 92 which radially protrudes fromthe post 91, the contact face 96 which is perpendicularly disposed tothe axis of the rearmost flight 81b, the entrance passage 97 leadinglongitudinally from the face 96, and the pair of bays 98, 99 at theinward end of the passage 97. These bays are the retrieval bay 98 andthe drive bay 99 which are circumferentially disposed in relation to theentrance passage 97 and spaced therefrom in interfitting relationship tothe locking lug 92.

By moving the new flight 81a forward while the lock ing lug 92 is inlongitudinal alignment with the entrance passage 97, the lug 92 ispushed thereinto and is free to enter either bay 98, 99. By a lockingtwist 94a in the drive direction, the lug 92 is pushed into the drivebay 99; by an unlocking twist 94b in the reverse direction, the lug 92is pushed into the retrieval bay 98.

Consequently, this auger'flight engaging means 90 offers a quick andsimple means for interconnecting two flights 81a, 81!) without manualoperation thereof. It is also useful for releasably attaching the speedreducer output shaft 57 to the rearmost flight 81. However, the post 91is attached to the shaft 57 by means of a conventional flange, not shownin the drawings, within the coupling 58 in order to have sufficient playto accommodate minor changes in direction of a tram of auger flights 81.

When a flight 81b, for example, has been driven to the edge of the dustcollecting means 100, the motor 51 is reversed, preferably by means of aspecial flight disengagement switch on the control panel 135 which givesa controlled reverse turn equalling the angular length of a bay 98, 99,so that two contacts there with move the lug 92 from one bay 98, 99 intothe other bay 99, 98 and one contact therewith moves the lug 92 intoalignment with the passage 97.

The procedure used for retrieving a flight 81 from a previous hole andfeeding it into a new hole being bored is illustrated diagrammaticallyin FIGS. 11a through 11g, as is described hereinafter. The pertinentflight-engaging procedure used in connection therewith is: (l) punch theflight-disengagement button on the control panel 135 once (producing anunlocking twist 94b through bay angle 94); (2) retract the carriage 30from the hole being bored (such as hole C in FIGS. Ila-11g); (3, movethe sump frame 20 laterally into alignment with the previously boredhole (such as hole B in FIGS. Ila-11g); (4) advance the carriage 30while selectively rotating the shaft 57 so that the lug 92 thereon is inradial alignment with the passage 97 of the rearmost flight 81protruding therefrom and is pushed firmly thereinto; (5) push theflight-disengagement button on the control panel 135 (producing anunlocking twist 94b through bay angle 95 for the lug 92 inside thecoupling 58 into bay 98 at the rear end of the rearmost flight); (6)retract the carriage 30 with the rearmost flight 81 being attachedthereto and slideably engaging and resting in the dust collecting device100, thereby pulling the entire series of flights remaining within holeB through the length of one flight 81; (7) while still retracting thecarriage 30, push the flight-disengagement button on the control panel135 once more to produce an unlocking twist 94b through bay angle 95 forthe lug 92 at the forward end of the rearmost flight, thereby pullingthe flights apart while the retrieved flight remains on the post 91attached to the shaft 57; (8) move the sump frame laterally intoalignment with the hole C; (9) advance the carriage 30 while selectivelyrotating the shaft 57 so that the lug 92 on the post 91 of the retrievedflight is in radial alignment with the passage 97 in the rearmost flightin hole C and is pushed firmly thereinto; (10) punch theflightengagement button to produce a locking twist 94a through bay angle95; and (I1) resume boring in hole C The dust collection means 100,shown in FIGS. 1, 3, and 4, comprises a vacuum pump 101, a vacuum dustbox 102, a fixed collection ring 107 having a bottom hole 105 therein,and an adjustment ring 106. The vacuum pump 101 is attached to aside-extending shelf on the right-hand side of the right-hand sump rail21. This pump 101 is connected by a vacuum line to the dust box 102which contains air-permeable but dustimpermeable bags of standarddesign, not shown in the drawings. The dust box 102 is connected withthe vacuum line 103 to the vacuum outlets 104 on the fixed collectionring 107, which is very thin, such as one-half to one inch in thickness.Vacuum holes 108 in the inner side of the adjustment ring 106, as shownin FIG. 4, are matched by similar holes in the fixed collection ring107.

The adjustment ring 106, although shown in the drawings as a one-piecemember of a single size, is actually a member of any selected size. Itis a semi-ringshaped member which provides air passages in the form ofholes 108 through its inner and outer sides only and has a thicknessselected to compensate for difference in diameter of a selected augerflight. Using the largest auger flight 81, such as 48 inches, which aparticular model of this deep-mine angering machine is designed toutilize would require no adjustment ring 106. Using the smallest augerflight 81, such as 26 inches, would require the thickest adjustment ring106 available for the model. Intermediate sizes of auger flights 81,such as 36 inches, would correspondingly require adjustment rings 106 ofmatching thicknesses.

The flattened top 109 of the adjustment ring 106 and fixed collectionring 107 need be no lower than the height of the topmost spiral edge 83of the smallest auger flight 81, when it is inserted within the ring106, that a particular model of this deep-mine augering machine isadapted to accommodate. Because the bulk of the emerging mineral whenlooking directly at the hole being bored, is in the lower left quadrantof the flight 81, it is sufficient if the top 109 is higher than thelongitudinal axis of the largest-sized flight 81 that a particular modeluses.

The anchor frame 110 comprises an anchor plate 111, a pair of centrallydisposed slide rails 113, a pair of outwardly disposed brace rails 112(all rails 113, 112 being mutually parallel, in spaced relationship, andrigidly attached to the top surface of the anchor plate 111), a floorjack 6], 61', 62, 62 and a roofjack 71, 71, 72, 72' at each corner ofthe plate 111, and fasteners 115.

The anchor plate 111, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, is preferably squareand very rigid; steel plate 1 inch thick is preferred. However. it ismerely necessary that the anchor plate have a greater lateral dimensionthan the width of the sump frame 20 and a shorter longitudinal dimensionthan the length of the sump frame 20. Whereas the sump rails 21 arepreferably 4-inch H- beams, the slide rails 113 are preferably 6-inch H-beams.

The anchor frame 110 may be constructed in other ways provided that: 1the proportions with respect to the sump frame are adhered to, (2) apair of spaced, parallel, and horizontally disposed slide rails areperpendicularly disposed to the sump frame, (3) the floor and roof jacksare widely and quadrangularly spaced apart, (4) the anchor frame hasgreat rigidity, and (5) the slide rails are slideably and bothsupportably and suspendably attached to the sump frame.

The slide fasteners 115, as shown in FIG. 8, are formed in the shape ofa hollow T having a pressure .portion as a horizontally disposed topplate 117, a

hanging portion as the pair of horizontally disposed lower plates 119,and a stop portion as the pair of vertically disposed lugs 116 whichride on each side of the web of the I-I-beam rails 113. The top plate117 of each slide fastener is attached to the bottom of the bedplate 24.The fastener 115 slideably encompasses the top plate and web of anH-beam slide rail 113. Each slide fastener 115 being located at anintersection of a sump rail 21 and a slide rail 113, the four fasteners115 are mutually spaced in quadrangular relationship. The interflttingslide surfaces of the rails 113 and fasteners 115 are heavy greasedunder operating conditions.

In the web and near each end of each slide rail 113 is a series ofuniform stop holes 114 which are spaced apart in a straight line by adistance equalling the difference in diameter between successive sizesof auger flights to be employed in operating this deep-mine augeringmachine. These stop holes 114 are visible in FIGS. 1 and 8.

Using a constant wall thickness between adjacent holes, the distancethat the sump frame 20 must travel in returning from the hole beingbored to the previously bored hole (e.g., from hole C to hole B in FIGS.Ila-11g) obviously depends upon the diameter of the holes being boredand ultimately upon the usuable thickness of the mineral seam beingmined. When a stop bolt 118 is selectively placed in a hole 114, itforms a sump frame stop means in combination with the lugs 116 which arepreferably provided with rubber bumpers along the vertical outer edgesthereof. With both rails 113 equipped with this mechanical stop means,the sump frame can be stopped at precisely selected positions, in frontof a previously bored hole and in front of the hole being bored, whenmoved in ei ther direction.

The sump frame positioning means 120 comprises the positioning jackswith cylinders 121 and rods 122, the cylinders 121 being hingeablyconnected to the brackets 124 which are attached to the anchor plate 111along one longitudinal edge thereof, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. The endsof the positioning jack rods 122 are pinned to the position jackbrackets 26 which are attached to the lower plate of the sump rail 21along the farther side, with respect to the brackets 124, of the sumpframe 20. With these positioning jacks 121, the sump frame 20 is readilyand quickly positioned laterally when and as desired while the weight ofthe sump frame is slideably resting upon the slide rails 113 through theplates 117 of the four fasteners 115. However, if the anchor frame 110is hanging from the sump frame 211 by means of the slide fasteners 115,these positioning jacks 121 move the anchor frame 110, for the sumpframe 20 is then the relatively immovable refer ence object.

The control means 130 comprises a start box 131 which is preferablyattached to the carriage bedplate 31, a punch-button control panel 135which is preferably attached to the side member 36 on the left side ofthe sump frame 20, a starter connection cable 132 between the panel 135and the starter box 131, a motor control cable 133 leading from thestarter box 131 to the motor 51, and an hydraulic control line 134leading from the hydraulic tank 48 to the panel 135. The electric drivemotors 141 have separate controls at the steering station near the faceend of the sump frame 20, and the vacuum pump 101 has ito own switch.

The wheel drive means 140, as shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 6, comprises apair of electrical drive motors 141, a pair of motor sprockets, a pairof wheel sprockets, a pair of sprocket chains 144, and a pair oftire-equipped rear wheels 145, 145'. Each motor 141 is attached to thetop plate of one of the H-beam rails 21 near its rear end and drives thenearby wheel 144 or 145 through its motor sprocket, wheel sprocket, andsprocket chain 144 at a slow tramming speed. As shown in FIG. 6, eachwheel 145, 145' rotates on an axle 146 which is attched to a wheel swingarm 148 which is connected to a sump rail 21 with a rail pin 147. Eachswing arm 148 has a stop means (not shown in the drawings) that preventsswinging of the arm 148 toward the anchor frame 110 and a selectivelydetachable lock means (not shown in the drawings) that locks the arm 148in its vertical position while tramming. Another lock means (also notshown in the drawings) holds each wheel 145, 145' in an elevatedposition, after the arm 148 has moved through storage swing 149 forstorage of each wheel 145, 145 in a safe storage position while themachine is boring, laterally retrieving, and walking from one site toanother.

The wheel steering means 150, shown in FIGS. 1, 2, 3, 4, and 7,comprises a steeing wheel 151, a steering shaft 152, knuckle pins 153, atie rod 154, tire equipped front wheels 155, 155 turning on front axles156, rail pins 157, wheel swing arms 158, and wheel steering arms 159.Each axle 156 is attached to a swing arm 158 near one end thereof, in anarrangement similar to the drive wheel arrangement, and also to a wheelsteering arm 159. The other end of each swing arm 158 is connected to asump rail 21 with a rail pin 157. Each wheel steering arm 159 is alsoconnected, by means of a knuckle pin 153, to the tie rod 154 which isconnected to the steering shaft 152. By manually removing both knucklepins 153, the swing arms 158 can be swung upwardly and locked inelevated position during boring, retrieval, and walking operations.

Typical manipulative operations for the deep-mine augering machine arediagrammatically illustrated in FIGS. 11a-1 1g. in FIG. 11a, themachine, comprising an anchor frame having a roofjack 71, 71, 72, 72 anda floor jack 61, 61', 62, 62 at each corner, a sump frame 20 having rearwheels 145, and a carriage 30, is illustrated in plan view as boringinto hole C of a series of three holes labelled A, B, and C. FIG. 11bshows the same relationship in an end elevation view.

FIG. 11c sketches the sump frame 20 after it has been slid laterallyinto position in front of the previously bored hole B for retrieval of aflight, hole B being used for flight storage, as is known in the art.The sump frame 20 then returns to hole C, inserts the retrieved flight,and resumes boring, but this part of the sequence is not illustrated.

FIGS. lld-llg sketches the walking procedure in which the suspendedanchor frame 110 is slid laterally beneath the sump frame 20 from onecantilevered position to another so that boring of a new series of holescan be commenced. The detailed steps of this walking procedure are asfollows:

1. lower the roofjacks 71, 71, 72, 72, and lower the floor jacks 61, 61,62, 62 to raise the anchor frame 110 above the floor of the mine entrywhile the sump frame 20 is moved to the desired-travel side of theanchor frame 110 (illustrated in FIG. 11d);

2. lower the wheels 145, 145, 1.55, and raise the floor jacks 61, 61,62, 62 so that the anchor frame 110 is suspended from the sump frame 20(illustrated in FIG. 11e);

3. using the position jacks 121, slide the anchor frame 110 laterally tothe other side of the sump frame 20;

4. lower the floor jacks 61, 61, 62, 62' and raise the wheels 145, 145,155, 155' (illustrated in FIG. 11 f); and

5. move the floor jacks 61, 61 62, 62 to their working levels and raisethe roof jacks 71, 71, 72, 72 into contact with the roof of the mineentry and commence boring a new hole D as the beginning of a new seriesof two holes (illustrated in FIG. 11g).

FIG. 9 illustrates the novel use of the deep-mine augering machine ofthis invention for entry development as the sole cutting machinetherefor. An entry 160 hav ing a floor 164, a roof 163, sides 165, andan end face 166 is continued in its development according to FIG. 9 byusing the deep-mine augering machine to bore a long breaker hole 161,such as 50 to 100 feet in depth, into the center of the end face 166.Then four or more shot holes 162 are drilled a selected distance fromthe edges of the breaker hole 161 at selected angles to the breaker hole161, the roof 163, and the floor 164.

When exposives have been inserted into the holes 162 and blown, theblown-down mineral is mucked with a loading machine, additional shotholes 162 are drilled outwardly of the blown area, explosives areinserted and blown, etc., until the entire end face 166 has been movedback by approximately the depth to which the shot holes 162 have beendrilled. Then the procedure is repeated, without need for any othermachine than a loader, until the end of the breaker hole 161 is reached.I

This method replaces repeated, shallow undercuttings of the seam withboring a large and very deep breaker hole, preferably spanning thethickness of the mineral seam, as the locus of the explosive force andthe sequential recipient of the fragmented mineral, It is known in theart to utilize a small, shallow, central breaker hole for a singleblasting, but it is believed to be new to use sequential drilling andblasting of an end face around a single breaker hole having great depth.

FIG. shows a novel mine layout 170 that this deepmine augering machineis able to follow. The mine has main entries 171, 172, 173 and aplurality of minor entries 189 in paralleLtherewith but notcommunicating with an access area. Crossing these entries 171, 172, 173are the No. 1 First Left Panel Entry 176 and the No. 2 First Left PanelEntry 177, thus isolating the large block 174 and five pillars 181-185.The block 174 is bored with the deep-mine augering machine from thepanel entry 176 with holes 186. The pillars 181l85 are pulled with theaugering machine from the entry 177 on retraction of the augeringmachine.

Similarly, holes 191, 192 are bored from the sides of the entries 171,172, 173 to recover most of the mineral in the blocks 194, 195, 196,197, etc. The largest block 175 is also bored from the panel entries177, 178 to depths of approximately 80 feet, whereby most of theavailable minerals is extracted from the mine.

It has also been noted that conventional carbide tips, commonly insertedby brazing or silver soldering into the cutter teeth 86 on the cutterhead 85, are subject to severe breakage if the direction of rotation isreversed. It has further been found that much more durable cutter teeth,not subject to such breakage, is obtainable by melting a carbide rod andsweating it onto a bit tip of a cutter tooth 86. The resultant tip ismuch harder to tear or break off than a conventional carbide tip and isdifficult to crack. Moreover, the life of this bit is much longer thanthat of a conventional carbide bit.

The wheels 145, 145, 155, 155 can readily be mounted on mechanical orhydraulic jacks whereby the walking procedure can be performed morerapidly. The floor jacks 61, 61, 62, 62' can also be omitted in thewalking procedure if the wheels 145, 145', 155, 155' are hydraulicallyextensible whereby the anchor frame 110 is simultaneously lifted fromthe floor of a mine entry. The walking procedure thus becomes simplifiedto:

1. move the sump means to the side of the anchor frame 110 in whichlateral walking is desired;

2. extend the wheels 145, 145, 155, 155 so that the anchor frame 110 islifted above the floor and can tiliverly supported from the slidefasteners 115;

3. with the position jacks 121, produce relative lateral movement of theanchor frame 110 and the sump frame 20 so that the anchor frame 110slides laterally beneath the sump frame 20 and becomes cantileverlysupported from its other side; and

4. retract the wheels 145, 145', 155, 155, so that the anchor framecontacts the floor, and resume augering operations.

The slide fasteners can be replaced with a rollerbearing attachmentmeans forrollably contacting the top and bottom surfaces of the topplate of the H-beam slide rails 113. The slide fasteners 115 arequadrangularly disposed, at each intersection of the sump rails 21 andthe slide rails 113.

The slide rails 113 need merely be travel-permitting rails capable ofbearing the weight of the sump frame 20 and carriage 30 when insupporting relationship and of bearing the weight of the anchor frame110 when in suspension relationship. The anchor frame 110 iscantileverly supportable when selectively suspended by the slidefasteners 115 as the travel-permitting attachment means between the sumpframe 20 and the anchor frame 110.

It will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art that variousmodifications and alterations may be made in the walking methoddescribed hereinbefore and in the form, construction, and arrangement ofthe various parts of the deep-mine augering machine without departingfrom the basic principles and purpose of the invention. Suchmodifications and alterations are consequently intended to be includedwithin the spirit and scope of the invention unless necessarily excludedtherefrom by the appended claims when broadly construed.

What is claimed is:

1. A deep-mine augering machine comprising:

A. an elongated sump frame which comprises quadrangularly disposed,floor-contacting wheels having means for selective elevation thereofabove the floor of a mine entry;

B. a carriage, movable along said sump frame, which supports an augerrotating means for auger flights disposed in longitudinal alignment withsaid sump frame; and

C. an anchor frame, disposed beneath said sump frame, having:

1. rigidity under heavy bending loads,

2. a greater lateral dimension than the width of said sump frame.

3. a smaller longitudinal dimension than the length of said sump frame,

4. a pair of travel rails which are laterally disposed on said anchorframe in perpendicular relationship to the elongated sides of said sumpframe, mutually parallel, and spaced apart,

5. travel-permitting attachment means for movably supporting said sumpframe on said anchor frame and for selectively movably suspending saidanchor frame from said sump frame, and

6. means for producing relative lateral movement of said sump frame andsaid anchor frame.

2. The deep-mine augering machine of claim 1 wherein said travel railsare slide rails and said travelpermitting attachment means is aplurality of slide fasteners.

3. The deep-mine augering machine of claim 2 wherein said fasteners arequadrangularly disposed.

4. The deep-mine augering machine of claim 2 wherein said sump frame isselectively movable laterally while slideably supported on said slidefasteners, from a hole being bored to a hole previously bored. forretrieval of an auger flight stored therein, and is again movablelaterally, while transporting the retrieved auger flight and whileslideably supported on said slide fasteners, from said hole previouslybored to said hole being bored, for adding said retrieved auger flighttherein and continuing the boring operation.

5. The deep-mine augering machine of claim 1 wherein said anchor frameadditionally comprises quadrangularly disposed, floor-contacting liftframe for selectively lifting said anchor means above the floor of amine entry.

6. The deep-mine augering machine of claim 1 wherein said anchor frameis cantileverly supportable while selectively suspended by saidattachment means from said sump frame.

7. The deep-mine augering machine of claim 1 wherein said wheelscomprise a pair of driven rear wheels attached to said sump frame beyondsaid anchor frame and a pair of steerable front wheels attached to saidsump frame beyond said anchor frame.

8. The deep-mine augering machine of claim 7 wherein each of said pairof driven rear wheels is driven by an individual electric motor througha sprocket chain, for tramming of said machine.

9. The method of walking a deep-mine augering ma chine laterally inparallel to a mineral face and over the floor of a mine entry, saidmachine having a sump frame selectively supportable ,on elevatable andquadrangularly disposed wheels, an anchor frame disposed therebeneath inlaterally movable relationship while selectively supporting said sumpframe, or hanging therefrom, a lift means disposed quadrangularly onsaid anchor frame, a brace means disposed quadrangularly on said anchorframe for rigidly anchoring said anchor frame against the roof of a mineentry in cooperation with said lift means, and a lateral positioningmeans for producing lateral movement between said sump frame and saidanchor frame, comprising:

A. moving said sump frame to the desired-travel side of said anchorframe;

B. disengaging said anchor frame from said floor and said roof byoperating said lift means and said brace means, respectively;

C. supporting said sump frame on said wheels until said anchor frame iscantileverly suspended from said sump frame;

D. sliding said anchor frame laterally until cantileverly extended fromthe desired-travel side of said sump frame by using said lateralpositioning means;

E. removing said wheels from supporting relationship with said sumpframe; and

F. engaging said anchor frame with said floor and said roof and intoalignment with a mineral seam being bored by operating said lift meansand said brace means, respectively, whereby said anchor frame is arigidly anchored operating platform for said sump frame.

10. A deep-mine augering machine, for extracting minerals by rotatablyboring a series of parallel holes in a mineral seam with a connectedseries of auger flights, which has a laterally reciprocative means forsequentially extracting a plurality of auger flights from a previouslybored hole, sequentially transporting each said extracted auger flightto the hole being bored, and sequentially adding each said transportedauger flight to the connected series of auger flights in the hole beingbored, said laterally reciprocative means comprising:

A. an anchor frame, as a horizontally rigid bottom platform, having atleast two laterally disposed rails attached thereto and quadrangularlydisposed floor jacks for selective elevation thereof;

B. a sump frame, as a boring platform, which is rigidly supported by andmovably attached to said rails during boring operations; and

C. position jacks, as a positioning and lateral movement means forlaterally and reciprocatively moving said sump frame from said holebeing bored to said hole previously bored and returning to said holebeing bored, whereby each said extracted auger flight is laterallytransported.

11. The deep-mine augering machine of claim 10 wherein said sump framesupports a longitudinally reciprocative carriage having anauger-rotating drive means with which each said auger flight, stored insaid hole previously bored, is sequentially extracted therefrom andsequentially added to said connected series of auger flights in saidhole being bored.

12. The deep-mine augering machine of claim 11 wherein said sump framefurther comprises a sump frame support means for selectively supportingand elevating said sump frame.

13. The deep-mine augering machine of claim 12 wherein said sump frameis movably attached to said rails with a travel-permitting attachmentmeans for:

A. rigidly supporting said sump frame during said boring operations;

B. movably supporting said sump frame during lateral movement thereof;and

C. selectively cantileverly suspending said anchor frame from said sumpframe, whereby said machine can be laterally walked to a new boringposition when said sump frame support means elevates and supports saidsump frame.

14. in a deep-mine augering machine for extracting minerals by rotatablyboring a series of parallel holes in a mineral seam with a connectedseries of auger flights, an auger'flight transfer means, comprising:

A. carriage supporting an auger-rotating drive means which isselectively connected to a plurality of auger flights disposed inlongitudinal alignment with said carriage;

B. a laterally reciprocative means, having extreme rigidity, for movingsaid carriage perpendicularly to said parallel holes, from a hole beingbored to a hole previously bored and for returning said car riage tosaid hole being bored while laterally transferring an extracted augerflight without disturbing the position of said deep-mine augeringmachine; and

C. a longitudinally reciprocative means for longitudinally moving saidcarriage during boring operations with said connected series of augerflights and during sequential auger-flight transfer operations whensequentially extracting said auger flights from said hole previouslybored, and, after said lateral transferring thereof, sequentiallyfeeding said transferred flights into said hole being bored.

15. The auger-flight transfer means of claim 14 wherein said laterallyreciprocative means comprises:

A. an anchor frame, as a rigid bottom platform, com* prising a rigidanchor plate having at least two laterally disposed rails attachedthereto,

B. a sump frame, as a boring platform, which movably rests upon and isrigidly supported by said rails during boring operations. and

C. position jacks, as a movement means for inducing laterallyreciprocative movement of said sump frame and for selectivelypositioning said sump frame.

16. A deep-mine augering machine, adapted for extracting minerals fromthin seams thereof by rotatably boring a series of spaced parallel holestherein, comprising:

A. an anchor frame, comprising:

1. an extremely rigid anchor plate which is as large as said anchorframe,

2. quadrangularly disposed floor jacks attached to said anchor plate forselective elevation thereof,

3. a brace means for exerting upward force upon the roof of a mineentry, whereby, in cooperation with said floor jacks, said anchor frameis anchored against sidewise forces thereupon during boring operations,and

4. slide rails which are attached to said anchor plate and disposedperpendicularly to said series of parallel holes; and

B. an elongated sump frame which is:

1. supported entirely by said anchor frame,

2. disposed transversely to and selectively movable laterally on saidslide rails, and

3. longer than the width of said anchor plate and narrower than thelength of said anchor plate.

17. The deep-mine augering machine of claim 16 wherein said width ofsaid anchor plate is at least as great as the diameter of two said holesplus the space therebetween.

18. The deep-mine augering machine of claim 16 which further comprises areciprocable position means for laterally moving and selectivelypositioning said sump frame on said slide rails.

19. The deep-mine augering machine of claim 18 which further comprises acarriage which is longitudinally movable on said elongated sump frameand supports an auger-rotating drive means for performing said boringoperations.

20. A deep-mine augering machine for rotatably boring a series ofspaced, parallel holes in a mineral vein with a boring means attached toa connected series of auger flights for rotatably extracting the mineralfrom said holes, comprising an essentially square and extremely rigidanchor frame, as a bottom operating platform which is rigidly braceablewith roof and floor jacks against the roof and floor of a mine entrycutting through said mineral vein, said jacks being a means forselectively aligning said boring means with said mineral vein, saidanchor frame being the anchor means for furnishing sole support andrigid alignment control to said boring means during said boring, andsaid boring means being attached to and supported by a carriage which islongitudinally movable on and supported by an elongated sump frame whichis movably attached to and supported by said anchor frame.

21. The deep-mine augering machine of claim 20 which further comprises asump frame positioning means for laterally moving said sump frame to andfro over said anchor frame while said anchor frame maintains said rigidalignment control.

22. The deep-mine augering machine of claim 21 wherein said sump framefurther comprises:

A. an attachment means for slidingly, weightsupportingly, andpendulently attaching said sump frame to said anchor frame; and

B. a sump frame support means which is selectively usable to elevatesaid sump frame, after release of said roof and floor jacks, so thatsaid anchor frame hangs from said sump frame and is selectivelytransferrable from saide to side of said sump frame by moving said sumpframe positioning means.

23. A deep-mine augering machine, comprising:

A. as a boring platform, an elongated sump frame which is operablewithout direct bracing against any mine surface,

B. a carriage, longitudinally movable along said sump frame, whichsupports an auger-rotating drive means connected to a plurality of augerflights disposed in longitudinal alignment with said sump frame; and

C. an anchor frame, disposed beneath said sump frame as a bottomplatform, comprising:

1. an anchor plate having two-dimensional rigidity under heavy bendingloads, a greater lateral dimension than the width of said sump frame,and a smaller longitudinal dimension than the length of said sump frame,

2. a pair of travel rails which are laterally disposed on said anchorplate in perpendicular relationship to the elongated sides of said sumpframe, mutually parallel, and spaced apart,

3. travel-permitting attachment means for movably supporting said sumpframe on said travel rails and for selectively movably suspending saidanchor frame from said sump frame,

4. positioning means for producing relative lateral movement of saidsump frame and said anchor frame,

5. floor-contacting lift means which are quadrangularly disposed on andrigidly attached to said anchor plate, for selectively lifting saidanchor frame above the floor of a mine entry, and

6. roof-contacting brace means, which are quadrangularly disposed on andrigidly attached to said anchor plate, for bracing said anchor frameagainst said lift means and the roof of a mine entry in selectedalignment with a hole previously bored and with a hole being boredduring boring operations into a mineral seam.

1. A deep-mine augering machine comprising: A. an elongated sump framewhich comprises quadrangularly disposed, floor-contacting wheels havingmeans for selective elevation thereof above the floor of a mine entry;B. a carriage, movable along said sump frame, which supports an augerrotating means for auger flights disposed in longitudinal alignment withsaid sump frame; and C. an anchor frame, disposed beneath said sumpframe, having:
 1. rigidity under heavy bending loads,
 2. a greaterlateral dimension than the width of said sump frame.
 3. a smallerlongitudinal dimension than the length of said sump frame,
 4. a pair oftravel rails which are laterally disposed on said anchor frame inperpendicular relationship to the elongated sides of said sump frame,mutually parallel, and spaced apart,
 5. travel-permitting attachmentmeans for movably supporting said sump frame on said anchor frame andfor selectively movably suspending said anchor frame from said sumpframe, and
 6. means for producing relative lateral movement of said sumpframe and said anchor frame.
 2. a greater lateral dimension than thewidth of said sump frame.
 2. a pair of travel rails which are laterallydisposed on said anchor plate in perpendicular relationship to theelongated sides of said sump frame, mutually parallel, and spaced apart,2. The deep-mine augering machine of claim 1 wherein said travel railsare slide rails and said travel-permitting attachment means is aplurality of slide fasteners.
 2. disposed transversely to andselectively movable laterally on said slide rails, and
 2. quadrangularlydisposed floor jacks attached to said anchor plate for selectiveelevation thereof,
 3. a brace means for exerting upward force upon theroof of a mine entry, whereby, in cooperation with said floor jacks,said anchor frame is anchored against sidewise forces thereupon duringboring operations, and
 3. The deep-mine augering machine of claim 2wherein said fasteners are quadrangularly disposed.
 3. longer than thewidth of said anchor plate and narrower than the length of said anchorplate.
 3. travel-permitting attachment means for movably supporting saidsump frame on said travel rails and for selectively movably suspendingsaid anchor frame from said sump frame,
 3. a smaller longitudinaldimension than the length of said sump frame,
 4. a pair of travel railswhich are laterally disposed on said anchor frame in perpendicularrelationship to the elongated sides of said sump frame, mutuallyparallel, and spaced apart,
 4. positioning means for producing relativelateral movement of said sump frame and said anchor frame,
 4. sliderails which are attached to said anchor plate and disposedperpendicularly to said series of parallel holes; and B. an elongatedsump frame which is:
 4. The deep-mine augering machine of claim 2wherein said sump frame is selectively movable laterally while slideablysupported on said slide fasteners, from a hole being bored to a holepreviously bored, for retrieval of an auger flight stored therein, andis again movable laterally, while transporting the retrieved augerflight and while slideably supported on said slide fasteners, from saidhole previously bored to said hole being bored, for adding saidretrieved auger flight therein and continuing the boring operation. 5.The deep-mine augering machine of claim 1 wherein said anchor frameadditionally comprises quadrangularly disposed, floor-contacting liftframe for selectively lifting said anchor means above the floor of amine entry.
 5. floor-contacting lift means which are quadrangularlydisposed on and rigidly attached to said anchor plate, for selectivelylifting said anchor frame above the floor of a mine entry, and 5.travel-permitting attachment means for movably supporting said sumpframe on said anchor frame and for selectively movably suspending saidanchor frame from said sump frame, and
 6. means for producing relativelateral movement of said sump frame and said anchor frame. 6.roof-contacting brace means, which are quadrangularly disposed on andrigidly attached to said anchor plate, for bracing said anchor frameagainst said lift means and the roof of a mine entry in selectedalignment with a hole previously bored and with a hole being boredduring boring operations into a mineral seam.
 6. The deep-mine augeringmachine of claim 1 wherein said anchor frame is cantileverly supportablewhile selectively suspended by said attachment means from said sumpframe.
 7. The deep-mine augering machine of claim 1 wherein said wheelscomprise a pair of driven rear wheels attached to said sump frame beyondsaid anchor frame and a pair of steerable front wheels attached to saidsump frame beyond said anchor frame.
 8. The deep-mine augering machineof claim 7 wherein each of said pair of driven rear wheels is driven byan individual electric motor through a sprocket chain, for tramming ofsaid machine.
 9. The method of walking a deep-mine augering machinelaterally in parallel to a mineral face and over the floor of a mineentry, said machine having a sump frame selectively supportable onelevatable and quadrangularly disposed wheels, an anchor frame disposedtherebeneath in laterally movable relationship while selectivelysupporting said sump frame, or hanging therefrom, a lift means dIsposedquadrangularly on said anchor frame, a brace means disposedquadrangularly on said anchor frame for rigidly anchoring said anchorframe against the roof of a mine entry in cooperation with said liftmeans, and a lateral positioning means for producing lateral movementbetween said sump frame and said anchor frame, comprising: A. movingsaid sump frame to the desired-travel side of said anchor frame; B.disengaging said anchor frame from said floor and said roof by operatingsaid lift means and said brace means, respectively; C. supporting saidsump frame on said wheels until said anchor frame is cantileverlysuspended from said sump frame; D. sliding said anchor frame laterallyuntil cantileverly extended from the desired-travel side of said sumpframe by using said lateral positioning means; E. removing said wheelsfrom supporting relationship with said sump frame; and F. engaging saidanchor frame with said floor and said roof and into alignment with amineral seam being bored by operating said lift means and said bracemeans, respectively, whereby said anchor frame is a rigidly anchoredoperating platform for said sump frame.
 10. A deep-mine augeringmachine, for extracting minerals by rotatably boring a series ofparallel holes in a mineral seam with a connected series of augerflights, which has a laterally reciprocative means for sequentiallyextracting a plurality of auger flights from a previously bored hole,sequentially transporting each said extracted auger flight to the holebeing bored, and sequentially adding each said transported auger flightto the connected series of auger flights in the hole being bored, saidlaterally reciprocative means comprising: A. an anchor frame, as ahorizontally rigid bottom platform, having at least two laterallydisposed rails attached thereto and quadrangularly disposed floor jacksfor selective elevation thereof; B. a sump frame, as a boring platform,which is rigidly supported by and movably attached to said rails duringboring operations; and C. position jacks, as a positioning and lateralmovement means for laterally and reciprocatively moving said sump framefrom said hole being bored to said hole previously bored and returningto said hole being bored, whereby each said extracted auger flight islaterally transported.
 11. The deep-mine augering machine of claim 10wherein said sump frame supports a longitudinally reciprocative carriagehaving an auger-rotating drive means with which each said auger flight,stored in said hole previously bored, is sequentially extractedtherefrom and sequentially added to said connected series of augerflights in said hole being bored.
 12. The deep-mine augering machine ofclaim 11 wherein said sump frame further comprises a sump frame supportmeans for selectively supporting and elevating said sump frame.
 13. Thedeep-mine augering machine of claim 12 wherein said sump frame ismovably attached to said rails with a travel-permitting attachment meansfor: A. rigidly supporting said sump frame during said boringoperations; B. movably supporting said sump frame during lateralmovement thereof; and C. selectively cantileverly suspending said anchorframe from said sump frame, whereby said machine can be laterally walkedto a new boring position when said sump frame support means elevates andsupports said sump frame.
 14. In a deep-mine augering machine forextracting minerals by rotatably boring a series of parallel holes in amineral seam with a connected series of auger flights, an auger-flighttransfer means, comprising: A. carriage supporting an auger-rotatingdrive means which is selectively connected to a plurality of augerflights disposed in longitudinal alignment with said carriage; B. alaterally reciprocative means, having extreme rigidity, for moving saidcarriage perpendicularly to said parallel holes, from a hole being boredto a hole previously bored and for Returning said carriage to said holebeing bored while laterally transferring an extracted auger flightwithout disturbing the position of said deep-mine augering machine; andC. a longitudinally reciprocative means for longitudinally moving saidcarriage during boring operations with said connected series of augerflights and during sequential auger-flight transfer operations whensequentially extracting said auger flights from said hole previouslybored, and, after said lateral transferring thereof, sequentiallyfeeding said transfered flights into said hole beinb bored.
 15. Theauger-flight transfer means of claim 14 wherein said laterallyreciprocative means comprises: A. an anchor frame, as a rigid bottomplatform, comprising a rigid anchor plate having at least two laterallydisposed rails attached thereto, B. a sump frame, as a boring platform,which movably rests upon and is rigidly supported by said rails duringboring operations, and C. position jacks, as a movement means forinducing laterally reciprocative movement of said sump frame and forselectively positioning said sump frame.
 16. A deep-mine augeringmachine, adapted for extracting minerals from thin seams thereof byrotatably boring a series of spaced parallel holes therein, comprising:A. an anchor frame, comprising:
 17. The deep-mine augering machine ofclaim 16 wherein said width of said anchor plate is at least as great asthe diameter of two said holes plus the space therebetween.
 18. Thedeep-mine augering machine of claim 16 which further comprises areciprocable position means for laterally moving and selectivelypositioning said sump frame on said slide rails.
 19. The deep-mineaugering machine of claim 18 which further comprises a carriage which islongitudinally movable on said elongated sump frame and supports anauger-rotating drive means for performing said boring operations.
 20. Adeep-mine augering machine for rotatably boring a series of spaced,parallel holes in a mineral vein with a boring means attached to aconnected series of auger flights for rotatably extracting the mineralfrom said holes, comprising an essentially square and extremely rigidanchor frame, as a bottom operating platform which is rigidly braceablewith roof and floor jacks against the roof and floor of a mine entrycutting through said mineral vein, said jacks being a means forselectively aligning said boring means with said mineral vein, saidanchor frame being the anchor means for furnishing sole support andrigid alignment control to said boring means during said boring, andsaid boring means being attached to and supported by a carriage which islongitudinally movable on and supported by an elongated sump frame whichis movably attached to and supported by said anchor frame.
 21. Thedeep-mine augering machine of claim 20 which further comprises a sumpframe positioning means for laterally moving said sump frame to and froover said anchor frame while said anchor frame maintains said rigidalignment control.
 22. The deep-mine augering machine of claim 21wherein said sump frame further comprises: A. an attachMent means forslidingly, weight-supportingly, and pendulently attaching said sumpframe to said anchor frame; and B. a sump frame support means which isselectively usable to elevate said sump frame, after release of saidroof and floor jacks, so that said anchor frame hangs from said sumpframe and is selectively transferrable from saide to side of said sumpframe by moving said sump frame positioning means.
 23. A deep-mineaugering machine, comprising: A. as a boring platform, an elongated sumpframe which is operable without direct bracing against any mine surface,B. a carriage, longitudinally movable along said sump frame, whichsupports an auger-rotating drive means connected to a plurality of augerflights disposed in longitudinal alignment with said sump frame; and C.an anchor frame, disposed beneath said sump frame as a bottom platform,comprising: